Madness
Madness are the constantly emitted waves from Elder Gods capitulated as thought, an Aura, and lastly as a permeable presence from their physical forms as a sort of infectious sick. Madness is needed and exists in all things, the basic usage of it to work within the bonds and realm of humanity without going to far was mastered by the Old God, Hel when she made the universal aspect of Fear. From the Elder Gods themselves, it is a near destructive force with there being a Madness for almost everything. They are linked to it in a way and it is also linked to them. The original Elder Gods created the original Madness upon being sealed away, a weapon and curse woven into the universe that acts as a line of tribute to them. Their spawn pull from the same source of Madness but because they are locked in the Abyss after the decay of Chaos they will never have the needs or means to become a threat, but only as abstract horrors that need only be slain. Madness exists in three categories, the Emotional, the Physical, and the Abstract. To define each is simple enough; Emotional Madness is when a single emotion completely consumes a persons life and their personality. Not to be confused with physical loss such as depression; where the body can not produce the chemicals needed. This would be something different, if someone was infected with the Madness of Depression they would actively run their lives to be constantly depressed, to constantly want the emptiness and sadness to fill them. They would seek to make everyone around them the same, constantly and always, its almost like an addictive quality fueled by the whispers of the Elder God who some people are born sympathetic towards. Second category of Madness is that of Physical Madness, this is derived to a sensation or sensory response, just like before the person will chase it and drive others to the same on and on. Lastly, the Abstract Madness can not be entirely quantified not understood, it can come in any form; from the illogical response of fear and dread one feels as they are left in an abandoned area to the gut-wrenching pain someone experiences when pushed outside of their limits. Whats important to note is that while this affects everyone, only those born sympathetic to the voice of the Elder God, their curse, will actually act upon it and from that over ninety nine point nine percent wind up dying pursuing it, leaving that single being out of a thousand or more as an infectious carrier. Meaning that Madness is mostly an useless force in the universe, except when it comes to the Elder Gods. When one Elder God gains enough following and dying by their Madness or the continued infection of others through the actually infected. Of course this returns back to the one in a thousand becoming actually infected and developing symptoms. This continues until the Elder God gains more power until they gain enough to breach from the Abyss and their sleeping forms are pulled to the strongest of each and all of those infected. This continues to feed them, letting them gain more of their powers. Infection infection comes in one of three methods each being the weaker than the one before it but of course each eventually leading to the more destructive level above it without enough time and energy and of course with the proper conditions to spread. The first level is Mental, Mental Madness comes in two forms the first of these forms is the basic infectious measure, this was as detailed above causing a person to sink deeper and deeper into Madness until it kills them or unless the rare case they reach the second level. This second level of mental infection that being the state that is called Warping. Warping alters perception, what people hear, how they hear it. The world is tinged in shades and colors that cause them to feed into the madness they have (aggressive red tints to raise blood pressure, cause aggressive tendencies or deep blues to help release depressive chemicals in the brain). Once a person reaches this state they gain a more physical level of infection which is perhaps more dangerous. At the physical level most end up dying, their bodies unable to keep up the stress and pressures of the Madness and so they often die with a sudden and mass aneurysm, further weeding out the weakest of all candidates. Those who have reached the second level, their Mental Noise as it is referred i.e. the constant and unending sounds of the Madness with its drive, along with the direct twinges of mental pain and oppression thus further spreading the mental infection. This continues until the noise overtakes them and it progresses further to an almost deadly level, one which cause an evolution which is known as a reality based warp. Soon their entire being is swallowed into a mental fog, their view of reality is completely warped to resemble the Throne of the Elder God who propagated their Madness and will soon only see people in one of two forms, the wild spider like three eyed figures present in the Throne or as they are, infected. Lastly is the most deadly form of the infection; that which is known as the Aural Infection which is far more physical than one would know. At this point the Aura becomes a thick black mist which carries not only the voice but the Madness of the Elder God to continue the infection. Next their physiology begins to change, their blood iron content nearly quadruples while it coagulates at fifteen times the normal rate, become a thick black slime that roots through their body. With this extreme iron content their bodies should die but their Aura repairs them at the near instant level, causing their cells, organs, and even their skin to become almost twice as thick and as strong as iron. From that their brains rot, many parts needed for action, reaction, thought, and so much reduce leaving only those needed for motor functions, sensory responses, and beta waves so that the Elder God can command them from the Throne. From there, there is only one further evolution, becoming a Hound. Corrective Measures There are a few corrective measures that have been seen to help battle against Madness and it's affects but they will be detailed here. Lobotomies - when it comes to that rare one percent of those who are infected with Madness and they begin to show symptoms, those informed usually choose an instant lobotomy to silence the sound. One of the only good things to come from the practice as its a way to stop the spread in species not able to properly harness Aura or survive other practices. White Worms - existing inside of Thrones, White Worms are a species of long white grub or worm. The liquid from which is extremely potent at disrupting and destroying mental noise, the only down side is the amount of worms needed to produce a single ampule. Due to the fact most people irradiate Elder Gods and their Thrones instantly, there is no way to collect enough for it to be fully viable. This is effective until the stage where it becomes a physical sickness. Elder Gods - as it turns out Elder Gods don't exactly like one anothers Madness especially in their Thrones as such Elder Gods are able to create powerful barriers around themselves and in the rare case those they choose protecting them from the Madness by creating such a powerful force it cancels it out like noise canceling headphones. Not only that Elder Gods can eat Madness, wholesale devour it cleansing anyone that hasn't gone so far to end up at the final stage. Paracuasal Weapons - these Elder God weapons which are meant to disrupt the flow of Time and Space to erase, destroy, or loop as it turns out are perfect for working against Madness. If one was able to fully manipulate the weapon, as long as it not a prototype, can use it to erase Madness. Hardening - Brought about thanks to the proper weaponizing of Oricalcum a new method known as Hardening has appeared. What does this mean, Resonance. As long as the weapon is able to Resonate with the owner and create the powerful resonating Aura around them the Madness must first chip away through this before it can begin affecting others. Noise - As simple as it seems Mental Noise is a powerful tool, usually found within the Terremoto and Coperture thanks to their specific weapons and tools. The Terremoto Familiar is able to create powerful Noise, a disrupting field inside of the Aura and Mind protecting the user against everything but pure physical infection, this only being found in the Hell Box. The Coperture are the same, any object they enhance with the Spirit of their Box gives off the same Field within their being, protecting them from everything but physical infection which comes from the Spirit Box. Masks - Though they are mostly discontinued and it is advised that they be destroyed on sight, the Cursing Insects and the Masks they create are natural insulators, pulling in and devouring Madness around those around them. Of course this renders the user as a violent berserker with no control, but it is a trade off for total protection for those around them. Aural Abilities - More than a few Aura Abilities have come into creation with the specific need of erasing or cleansing Madness, like before as long as the being hasn't become a Hound or above, they can usually be purified or cleansed. Some abilities have even been shown to specifically target and eradicate Madness., Aura - While many see this as dumb, a person purposefully forcing their Aura outwards at a constant and extreme rate will be able to keep their Auras from becoming infected with the expense of tiring or in some cases dying to keep from being infected, though there are two downsides. Unless a person has found true mental focus through their Aura and its dispersal their minds can still be corrupted. Secondly, unless their aura is completely physical, they can still be infected through physical means. Cleaners - Born as a sort of antivirus to Madness, their Aura produce naturally healing waves which can stave off Madness and even save people lost in it's throws. It is thought those with this ability are descended from those infected with Cursing Insects and disseminated through the bloodline. These people are rare as those who are sympathetic to the Elder Gods usually try to hunt them down and find them, as most methods this applies until one becomes a Hound. Biological Reconstitution - One of the last truly known methods which applies until one becomes a Hound is the reconstruction of their being. There are more than a few sects and organizations which can do this, breaking down a person at their base level, bleeding out the physical traits of Madness and repairing parts of the infected brain to repair them. Aura Transfer - Perhaps the last known method, when one person is infected those skilled enough with the usage of their Aura sends everything they have into the infected, a single healing pulse filtered through the body and released outwards. This causes the Madness to latch onto the Aura thinking that it can move on to the last stage of infection and leave the last first two states only to be dragged out. Of course if there is nothing to dispose of it into or to destroy it, the Madness spreads out, latching onto and infecting others. Spiral - One of the only true weapons against Madness, Spiral at it's full power actively pulls and rips at the seams of reality, when both reality warping forces clash they tear into one another before ripping themselves apart and breaking away in every direction. While it is a good combative measure, the collateral damage can swallow if now destroy entire worlds. Reality Wounds Madness has so much more than just that, no Madness has a power within it that manipulates the physical word. When enough Madness has infected an area, passed into the Mana and the very materials around it laws begins to alter things begin to change in random ways. It has shown Mana to become ill, producing deadly and sickly plumes of Madness tinted energy. Air can become thicker than water and drown people within the area on nothing alone. Day can become night in limited plots, plants and animals twist turning into infectious proxies as laws of the material universe begin to break down. The more Madness in the area, the more it infects the more it spreads, swallowing up anything in it's place. Madness has been shown to break down and pull apart anything around it in this form, Aura warps and becomes sickly, Mana is dangerous to pull around others, natural elements are near instantly infected, and the baring of ones soul outwardly ensures infection on the deepest level. While almost none can harness Madness in this form, those who can are perhaps the most terrifying opponents to face simply because of how their combat rears back and destroys material law; fire turned to a liquid unable to be cast, gravity becoming a radial sphere, energy being connected to mass and lo longer transferring, thoughts and fears warped into reality. At this stage, only the proper tools or weapons meant to battle against Elder Gods and their Madness are effective, if even that when dealing with one who has full manipulation over it and enough mental ability to successfully battle. Hounds This is the last form a being takes when infected, brought about by the Aural Infection, reduced to easily commanded rage fueled zombies, attacking and murdering whatever they can't infect and spreading their infection. At any given time there are around one to two thousand Hounds in a world so long as the Elder God hasn't been pulled from the Abyss to double the effective potency of the Madness and the infection. Hounds are easy to dispose of, just so long as their heads are completely obliterated and their bodies, every single bit, are incinerated then the life of a Hound ends there. If they are not immolated, a Bleeder or worse may be able to repair them. Bleeders Known as the advanced Hound, Bleeders start to appear when either a single Hound has gained enough power to pull at the Abyss or there are hundreds of Bleeders to do the same. When this occurs the Elder God breaches the Abyss and begins to spill into the material universe. The Hounds most sympathetic to their voice, the one most connected to their Madness transforms. Their bodies warp and pull, their physical forms transforming into something much closer to an Elder God trying to pull free from a Shell. Turning into what appears to be a multi tendril semi aquatic based monster. They regain some form of their former mentality and reasoning but are so taken with the Madness it no longer matters. Warped so mental and completely they are no better than monsters with the only upside being that they will never return. Each Bleeder is different from one another, each Bleeder having its own Madness shaped Shell that needs only be destroyed. They will constantly regenerate inside of their Elder God's Throne before returning to the material word unless every atom is obliterated. Zealots The strongest forms of Madness outside of Elder Gods, Zealots are monsters wearing the skins of their former selves. Zealots are created when living things are pulled deep into the heart of an Elder God Throne, there the Elder God envelops them in a cocoon made of Madness and their blood, transforming them into something of a Pseudo Elder God. These beings are swallowed up willingly by this power, exuding all forms and powers of Madness, warping and tearing reality around them. While Madness that warps the physical realm is rooted in an area like a blight, this is actively exuded from the being, having long since replaced their aura, leaving only darkness. Once Madness has progressed to this stage and has infected to this rate, all one can do is die or give the Zealot a proper death. This last task is hard, Zealots are linked to the core, the heart of Madness inside of the Elder God. The only way to put an end to them is to destroy said core; releasing the specific and weaponized madness. This leaves the execution of the infected who now "Cause Madness for the sake of Madness, further feeding all Elder Gods through lines of tribute, hastening their awakening and swallowing worlds as they have in the past"